1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to compressing and fragmentizing apparatuses utilized in converting scrap material into reusable material. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved fragmentizing and compressing apparatus and system that compresses, shreds, separates, and discharges the converted scrap material, and which may provide that the apparatus(es) and/or system is mobile or transportable from one location to another.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently, the convergence of cost savings and environmental sensitivity has generated a demand for apparatuses and systems that can more economically recycle material previously recycled in other ways or were discarded to a landfill. In particular, scrap material resulting from the use of metal, plastic, rubber, glass, ceramic, wood or other similarly used material, has emerged as a valuable commodity as a means for extracting optimal consumption from a particular quantity of material. In optimizing consumption throughout the production and use cycle, manufacturers and consumers alike may realize long-term costs savings in reducing the need for purchasing new or virgin replacement materials, reducing raw material costs and in minimizing waste disposal costs. Additionally, the disposal of such materials may require special efforts or permits compliant with environmental laws and/or regulations. A further optimization of the consumption cycle is realized in the reduction of transportation costs afforded by the invention and its capability to be located at or near the scrap stock site, eliminating a haulage step from the recycling process.
The aforementioned concerns are particularly acute with metal materials, including but not limited to steel, iron, copper, brass, nickel, and aluminum, which are becoming increasingly expensive to purchase and utilize in a manufacturing process. The utilization of the disclosed apparatus(es) and/or system provides a means for reducing excess scrap stock (at the manufacturer, consumer, and waste-disposal level) by compressing and shredding the material into scrap feedstock that is further separable by size and/or composition, if desired. Of particular interest, the invention may be arranged and housed in such a manner as to be mobile or transportable to a site possessing excessive amounts of scrap material that might otherwise be more costly and/or difficult to recycle than what can be achieved by the apparatus(es) and system disclosed herein.
Thus far, the applicant is unaware of any apparatus, device, system or method which disclose the elements of the apparatus(es) and/or system disclosed herein. To date, the prior art discloses a variety of apparatuses and systems that attempt to recycle scrap material in an efficient and convenient manner, including compression apparatus and shredding systems.
However, the present invention provides an improvement over the arrangement, operation and results of the prior art in this field of endeavor. To those skilled in the art, it is well known that a compression apparatus is often coupled to a cutting apparatus (commonly referred as a shear) to reduce the compressed materials into a usable size fraction for metals melting. A limitation of this art is that commingled materials, such as occur in obsolete (end-of-life) durable goods, for example, automobiles, appliances, and the like, remain commingled in a state requiring further, often costly, reduction to separate the materials into acceptably pure fractions. Also well known to those skilled in the art, shredders or pulverizers are used to reduce commingled materials to a size fraction that permits the separation of the commingled materials into acceptably pure fractions. A limitation of this art is that large scale obsolete materials require a shredder size sufficient to receive the materials, such as, for example, an obsolete automobile. The shredder size required in such cases is limited to large scale, high throughput, permanently installed machinery, typically located in metropolitan areas where collected material must be hauled some distance to the operation. Such haulage of collected material becomes less profitable as fuel costs escalate. The economic scale presented by this size requirement creates further limitations to cost reductions through the larger operation and maintenance cost of the business.
The invention disclosed herein overcomes the aforementioned limitations by providing the means to shred or fragmentize said materials, such as obsolete automobiles, by first compressing the materials into a compact form that is then fed directly to a small size shredder which reduces the compressed material to the desired size for later separation into desirable fractions. This apparatus, because of its considerably smaller size, may be mounted on a mobile structure, such as a trailer, or on a road-transportable skid such that the recycling process can be located wherever said recyclable materials may be stocked. In this manner, a haulage step is eliminated from the recycling process and the scale of operational cost is reduced.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,649, issued in the name of Koenig;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,686, issued in the name of Funk et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,573, issued in the name of Rouse et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,499, issued in the name of Strom;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,163, issued in the name of Gates;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,913, issued in the name of van der Beek et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,019, issued in the name of Newell et al.; and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,234, issued in the name of Del Zotto.